Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s Mom Admits Family ‘Could Barely Get Out of Bed’ After Their Deaths

The family of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau recently opened up about how their lives were irrevocably changed after the hockey players’ deaths.

“We didn’t just lose the boys that night,” Johnny and Matthew’s sister Katie told Us Weekly in an interview published on Friday, April 10. “We lost the boys and my parents. Losing a child is something that nobody should ever have to go through.”

Her mother, Jane Gaudreau, sat alongside her for the interview and admitted that they “could barely get out of bed in the morning and take a shower.”

Johnny and Matthew — who were both avid hockey players with the former even playing at the professional level — were out biking together when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver. It happened the night before Katie’s wedding in August 2024, and both men died in the accident.

Jane, who shared the athletes with husband Guy Gaudreau, recalled that months after her sons’ deaths, someone suggested organizing a 5K as a way to honor both Johnny and Matthew, but the thought was paralyzing at first.

“Our friend said, ‘We’ll do everything for you, just let us know,’” Jane told the publication. “‘If you’re not ready to be involved, maybe you could just come to the 5K.’ We thought, ‘That would be great because at the funeral, there were so many people that came to see us that we don’t really remember.’ So we thought, ‘OK, that would be a great way to see them and it would be under happier terms.’”

The event was eventually held in May 2025, and ultimately raised over $500,000 to go toward the construction of a playground at the school where Jane and her eldest daughter, Kristen, are employed.

The 5K was such a success that it’s now turned into an annual event.

“I don’t think people throughout the hockey world — throughout South Jersey to Columbus to Calgary — I don’t think they realize how much they did for us,” Jane explained. “By them talking to us and bringing them into their world and seeing what they could do for us or how they could help keep John and Matty’s legacies alive, they just helped us so much with our grief.”

Katie — who admitted “this is a tragedy that I would never wish on my worst enemy” — also praised the now Annual Gaudreau Family 5K Run/Walk & Family Day, noting “telling stories about the boys and the impact they’ve made, it really helped us to heal and to continue to heal.”

As Globe previously reported, Sean Higgins, the man accused of killing the brothers, is now seeking to have his charges, including first-degree aggravated manslaughter, reckless vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and tampering with physical evidence, dismissed.

Higgins admitted to imbibing the day of Johnny and Matthew’s deaths and his blood test performed by law enforcement indicated a blood alcohol content of .087. However, his attorney, Richard Klineburger, claimed that it “was plasma that was tested, not whole blood.”

“Based upon our expert report, that brings the actual BAC reading down to .075,” Klineburger explained.

The legal limit is .08. If convicted, Higgins faces up to 70 years behind bars.